18 May 2018
Torrey, UT BLM
Nice title uhh? No “Fords”, only the BFT, and no church services…
Cathedral Valley, is in the northern part of Capitol Reef National Park, and to us based upon reading about Utah, this is the iconic area of Capital Reef, although it is very remote.
We left the house for a 60 mile loop scenic drive through Cathedral Valley. When I asked the visitor center about this drive a couple days ago, they said to check in with them to get the condition’s of the river and the dirt roads. Also, they said to pack food and clothes in case of an emergency, as it could take hours or days for help to find you. Hmm, sounds like we are going to the Arctic Circle!
So this morning we stopped as requested, they said the Fremont River was only 8-10 inches deep at the ford, and the roads were good. But the rain in the forecast could change that in a hurry, so be mindful of the washes…… Okay, here we go….
We began at the south end of the Hartnet Road near Highway 24 where there is no bridge… ah, now you get it, we have to ford the Fremont River; there is no bridge. The ford has a hard packed, rocky bottom, and water levels are normally a foot or less deep.
The BFT was in 4WD as we drove into the Fremont river and turned right “fording” down stream about 100 feet before we turned left on the dirt road. How cool was that ! Man that was fun!
The unpaved road winds and climbs steeply through ponderosa and aspen forests, from 6,800 feet to 9,500 feet on Thousand Lake Mountain. The desert hillsides have been painted with a rainbow of colors at times like we were on Mars. Interesting rock formations are visible at every turn.
The “road” condition changed based upon the geology of our surroundings. For while the road was fine sand, which was soft and blowing around. Then at elevation, we were slowly driving on boulders and rocks of all different shapes and sizes. At times the road was wash boarded red dirt, that shook our eye teeth out of our head, and other times the road was sheer slick rock.
Of course it was only 1 lane wide with pull outs every now and again. We had some tight spots for sure, in fact one of them was going down the mountain, with sheer cliffs below and the switch-back turn was so tight, I had to backup to make the turn. Yep, Ann Maire was holding on!
We had our first “Holy Cow” moment as we entered a hairpin curve, there was a cow and her calve in the road ! Yep, ya gotta move cow, and she did. Then once we got on top of the mountain, Upper South Desert Overlook — a brief walk to the “edge” provided amazing panoramic desert views through the valley.
And then.. we made it !…..Upper and Lower Cathedral Valley provided views of sculptured monoliths with names like the Walls of Jericho and the Temples of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Although it was a party cloudy day, the monoliths were illuminated by the sun when we first got there.
Black boulders strewn across the landscape are remnants of lava flows from 20 million years ago. You come across groups of them and wonder where did they come from out there in the middle of nowhere?
Glass Mountain is a large, exposed mound of selenite crystals. Selenite is a variety of gypsum in the form of glassy crystals. Amazing what Mother Nature can create.
After driving this 60 mile loop, very slowly, (six hours long) we were beat up from the ruts, washes, and rocky road. The scenery and seeing the Cathedral Valley was well worth it, but when we arrived at the hardtop we were relieved!!! Time for a drink and dinner. Wow what a day.
